Friday loves

• this tattoo that I stumbled upon via Pinterest. I've been thinking of getting something that represents the American Indian part of me, and I love this dreamcatcher. it's simple but beautiful. 

if you know the original source of this image, let me know so I can credit it properly!

• the ever so addicting Words With Friends game that I downloaded on my phone. I'm a word game fiend and so naturally, I'm hooked on it. I've been playing with friends as well as random opponents. if you want to play, shoot me an email!

• Mrs. Biscuit's kitty mugs. I need to find them, and soon. I don't know if I can live without them.

• Michael Scott's last episode of The Office. I have no words, other than I AM SO SAD.

image

• this pasta sauce recipe that we cooked last night. we used a lot more cheese than the recipe call for, and it turned out pretty well. if we make it again (which I'm sure we will, cause I get sick of eating red sauce), I'll probably only use half of the pasta. either way, it was delicious! I will have pictures soon! 

• Cole's roundup of rain boots. I've been wanting a pair of rain boots for what seems like forever, and Target chevron pretties are a callin' my name! 

• the whole navy blue/nautical thing that West Elm's got goin' on right now. more specifically, these napkins and these pillows, and this shower curtain. I would like them all in my home now, please and thank you.

• Clara's birth story. holy hell, there were a lot a terrified moments leading up to this girl's arrival, and you would have never known it if not for Sherry's heart wrenching post this week.

• Erika's kitchen makeover - specifically, the after pictures. I especially love the old gym locker in the pantry and the open shelves! oh, and the green cabinets don't hurt either.

• this bathtub. HUBBA HUBBA. 

Emily Henson Interiors via Lauren @ the little things we do

Happy Friday! <3

Sleeve progress!

Sat for about 2 1/2 hours today. I did pretty well for the first half but started to get antsy around the 2 hour mark. But happy to report that it's starting to look like an actual sleeve!

My latest tattoos : )

My last 3 tattoos have been done in about...the past 2 months..Small Stuff to fill up gaps, but i still love it..Done by my boy Henry at Leos Tattoo in hialeah..

Jelly Bean..

Knuckle Sandwich

and my boom box :) 

http://www.facebook.com/leostattoo

design ADD & tidbits

I changed my header again. and my button. I'm sticking with the argyle background though, cause I loves it. I wanted something cleaner and not so busy, so voila. even made a matching button, cause I'm fancy and shit. sike. 

had a busy weekend - got this done on Saturday. it's the only picture I have so far, and it's on my cell phone, of course. I got the two flowers and the crab colored... I only have one more session to go until my sleeve is complete, and I can't wait. it's disgusting looking right now with the peeling and the flaking, so I'll wait til it's healed to take better pictures. 

spent Sunday with my best friend at her house for a Tastefully Simple party. pretty sure I'm hooked on their products now... especially the strawberry cheeseball. holy crap, that thing was delicious. I ordered $66.61 worth of stuff from the consultant. 666... fitting, no?

I had the day off yesterday, which was wonderful considering it was about 80 degrees and beautiful outside. I went to my first ever dermatologist appointment in the morning... I needed to have my moles checked out (I'm moley, ha), and to find out what the hell is going on with my skin. as I suspected, my recent breakouts are due to my crazy ass hormones going bonkers since getting off birth control. and my moles are A-okay. 

the rest of the day went as follows: 

-drop off prescribed antibiotic lotion at pharmacy

-stop to see a friend at her work

-get nails done (color= jade is the new black. it's gorgeous)

-pick up prescribed antibiotic from pharmacy

-go home and take a quick nap

-head BACK out to the dentist, have teeth cleaned and told I need to floss more (what else is new?)

-go home and change

-go to the gym and start C25K program (awesome, by the way)

-home again... shower, dinner, TV, bed

WHEW!

wish I could have relaxed more on my day off, but it just wasn't in the cards for me I guess, haha. I'll write a better post about the Couch to 5K program when I get some time, but I'm sure you've all heard of it. I definitely want to elaborate on my experience with it, because I'm not a runner... but I'm only on Week 1, so I'll see how I feel about it in a few weeks and update you!

oh. one more thing. who has two thumbs and has been a non-smoker for 6 months today? 
this girl!  :)

Happy Tuesday, readers!

listomania

• my next tattoo appointment for my sleeve is this weekend! I can't wait to get some work done now that I have some birthday money to spend. I plan on at least getting the rest of the color done, and hopefully will be able to start on the background as well. ideally, I'd like to get it finished, but I don't know how long I'll be able to sit. we shall see! 

photo taken after my last tattoo session in October.

•  we have been total rockstars when it comes to gymin' it up. we've successfully worked out at least 3 days a week for 4 weeks now, and it feels amazing! I took spin class last Wednesday and had a serious case of the DOMS until Sunday, so I spent a few days doing upper body exercises. I downloaded an app on my phone to track my workout routine, and it's really helped to make sure I'm working all of my muscles and I can even check to see that my form is spot on. I've noticed a huge difference in my strength and I can tell that I'm slimming down again after my month long hiatus during the winter. 

• regular season hockey is almost over! I'm counting on my Caps to bring home the Stanley Cup this year... that is, as long as we can make it out of the first round. we're hoping to score tickets for at least ONE playoff game this season... if they're in our budget, of course.

photo taken from last season's game 7 of round 1 against Montreal, which we lost.

• I'm walking on May 1st for our local March of Dimes, and I could NOT be more proud of our team. so far, we've succeeded in becoming the largest team in our area and one of our members is currently in 4th place for most money raised by an individual. we are walking in honor and support of our friend's baby Gianna, as well as others babies who were born too soon. so far, we've raised almost $2,000! if you'd like to help us out and donate (or if you're local and would like to walk with us), you can check out my personal page. go to the homepage for our team (appropriately named Gianna & The Baby Steppers) to read more about Gianna's story! 

photo belongs to Gianna's mama, Stephanie. don't steal, or I will CUT YOU.

• speaking of participation, I decided to sign up for the April Photo Hunt Challenge - you can find the link over on my sidebar under "Current Projects." I've been a huge slacker when it comes to taking photographs on a regular basis, so I'm hoping that the challenge will give me a little more motivation to get my camera out more often. I think now that the weather is nicer, I'll have more interest in getting out and about with my camera. 

• I need a vacation. badly. or I might kill someone. I have 4 weeks left of classes, which includes 3 more discussion posts, 1 more essay (600-700 words), 1 research paper (1200 words), and the final exam, which is in essay format. I am SO ready to be done. 

Happy Tuesday! 

my mother-in-law got her first tattoo

I took my MIL to get her very first tattoo over the weekend. she knows how much I love tattoos, and how much I trust and respect my tattooer, so it was only natural for her to want him to tattoo her for the first time. she was specific about her design - she wanted a trinity knot with her husband, son, and daughter's initials inside. she also wanted to incorporate a Q into the design - she wanted it to be strong, yet feminine.

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of course, I took plenty of pictures to share with you all. my tattoo artist (Keelhauled Mike) specializes in Coleman Style tattooing, which I love, so it's always a pleasure to search through the wall to wall flash designs they have up. I love the bold outlines, the deep shading, and the vibrant color of traditional tattoos.

 

I love going to visit my tattoo artist, if only for the visit to the quaint town of Denton, which is only about 20 minutes outside of Delaware. it's such a cute little old town, and I really enjoy being in the quiet. Hanging out in the tattoo shop with Mike and Ken is always a fun time - lots of laughs and bullshitting.

took this for all my fellow Irishmen (and women!)

I wish I could have gotten tattooed as well, but unfortunately, we are super duper broke right now, and it's not really a possibility. I'm hoping to accumulate enough birthday money that I'll be able to get my sleeve worked on sometime in the near future.

Happy Wednesday!

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oh, and PS - my birthday is in exactly one week. thumbs up!

New Tattoos....

Ive been really busy lately, my back is killing me, my hands are sore, my shoulders hurt....but im not complaining :)

Here are a few tattoos ive done this week...

she dreams in color, she dreams in red

I had my color session with my tattoo artist Saturday afternoon. I brought him a jar of apple butter, as a peace offering, in hopes that he would take it easy on me. no such luck. we touched up the outline and shading in some places that had faded slightly and then got to work on the color. 

I had Mike take pictures after we were done, which he took in RAW format with my camera. unfortunately, those pictures are on my computer at home, and the only ones I have access to right now are the ones I converted to jpg for Facebook. I was also really bummed that the editing I performed on the photos while they were in RAW format didn't transfer over when I converted them. boo-urns.

please excuse the gross factor of some of the images - tattoos are ugly when they're freshly finished.

first up was my pretty birdie, the Oriole...

next up was the Checkerspot Butterfly...

after she was finished, we did the mallets, and then Mr Edgar Allen Poe... 

moving along to the Maryland State Flag, which has turned out to be my favorite part... 

added some red glow to the "Maryland, My Maryland" banner... 

and finally finishing up with the White Oak Leaf, which I decided to do in red instead of green, so that it would tie in nicely with the others... 

... at which point, I was DONE for the day. I was in a lot of pain, and there was no way I'd make it through the rest of the pieces, which includes two Black-Eyed Susans, the Old Bay Seasoning can, and the Maryland Blue Crab. 

I've made another appointment for November 13th to finish up the rest of the coloring. I also have to decide on other items to add into the tattoo, specifically for my elbow and my ditch (which is the part of the arm on the other side of the elbow)... I'm not looking forward to that, at all. I also want to add some lettering to the empty spaces, so I have some research to do!

I was so happy to get some work done, but the pain is crazy this time around. I'll be excited when the whole sleeve is finished, so I can move on to another project! ;)

Happy Monday!

I'm looking forward to...

(shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessi over at Caterpillar Family Blog)

- finally getting my tattoo colored and filled this weekend. it's been a long journey to get this much work done, and I'm ready for it to be complete. I love this tattoo, and it means SO much to me. it's the place I grew up, it's my home, it will always be my home. I'm proud to represent Maryland.

- going out of town next weekend (October 8-10) to visit some extended family on my mom's side. twice a year, everyone gets together and makes apple butter - and I mean the whole nine yards... picking, peeling, cooking, churning, and canning.

I haven't been there for this event since I was a kid. I'm so, so, so excited to see my second cousin and her babies. we spent every single summer together growing up... running a muck and causing riots and just getting into all kinds of trouble in general.

she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and I haven't seen her since that day, which was over a year ago! she has since given birth to her second child (little girl, Ella) and I cannot wait to meet her. her son, Peyton is so big now, and I can only imagine how he smart he is with a grade-A mama like her! I really just can't wait to spend some quality time with those that I don't get to see often.

- going to see the Washington Capitals take on the Boston Bruins on October 19th with my lova lova. football season is number one in this house, but hockey season comes in at a close second. I can't wait to watch the Caps play their hearts out this season! I'm hoping they continue the dominance they showed last season!

- seeing Louis CK perform live stand up comedy on October 22nd. we've seen him twice before, and he is HILARIOUS. all caps necessary. he has a show on FX (I think?) called Louie, and it's pretty witty and amusing, but nothing compares to the raw talent that is his stand up. he is, hands down, one of my favorite comedians.

VIDEO = NSFW

- my best friend, Kaley, is turning 26 years old in a few weeks! her birthday celebration, which is also being combined with Kath's birthday, takes place on October 23rd. they're starting with dinner at the Melting Pot (NOM!), followed by a little low key shindig at Kaley's house. I'm really excited to have a night with some of my favorite ladies, where nothing but good times is had. AND I'm thrilled to give Kaley her birthday present! :D

- H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love getting dressed up and hanging out with friends. obviously, we don't have kids yet, so we don't do the whole trick or treating thing, but we make sure to hit a few parties every year and celebrate appropriately! Sean and I have already purchased our costumes for this year, and while we're not matching like we usually do, they're still pretty great. I'll reveal what they are in a future post!

here are our costumes from last year: we were a shotgun wedding. :)

- seeing Daniel Tosh's stand up on November 6th. I've seen bits and pieces of his show, Tosh.0, which is pretty funny, so I'm sure his stand up will be good as well. seeing comedians live is one of my favorite things to do, so I'm sure I won't be disappointed. :)

what are YOU looking forward to?

tattoo inspiration - part 1

I made an appointment to FINALLY get my sleeve finished for October 2nd. well, at least I'm hoping to get it finished. sometimes I puss out during color sessions, because that shit hurts. either way, I'm excited to get more work done and I'm aimingb to have a finished sleeve before the end of the year.

with another piece close to being completed, I find myself already thinking about what I want to get next. I'm thinking I definitely want to get a half sleeve on my right arm, and something on the back of one of my calves. I'd like to do the other side of my ribs (left side), and I was actually considering getting my favorite quote there, since it has so much personal meaning to me. aaaand, I'm also tossing around the idea of a chest piece, but I really need to do a LOT of research before I take that jump.

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now, almost every single one of my tattoos has special meaning to me, but I'm thinking I want to go in a different direction for my right half sleeve and get something purely aesthetic. I've always loved mermaids. ALWAYS. up until I was about 13 (oh, who am I kidding... I still want that!), I wanted to be a mermaid. to this day, every time I find myself in a swimming pool, I do my best mermaid impersonation. mermaids fucking rock.

also, several men on my mom's side of the family were/are members of the Coast Guard, and if you know about mermaids, you know that the myth says they flirted with and intrigued men at sea. okay, so maybe this one has more meaning than I thought.

so while Sean was in Atlantic City over the weekend for a bachelor party and gambling our money away having a fab time, I stayed in and searched for some mermaid tattoo inspiration. I haven't decided if I want to go the route of old school pin-up style or if I want to do something more modern with a lot of shading and detail. either way, I felt myself drawn to these images.

NOTE: my tattoo will not show a mermaid's bewbs. totes not my style. 

I like this one because of the clean lines and the vivid colors. if it were more detailed, it would be better, but I like the use of other sea life in the tattoo.

this one is my favorite of all the images I've seen. the colors and the shading are wonderful, and I love the water swirling around her. I'd probably exchange the flowers for something different, though.

I really like how real this one looks. I could do without the nudity, but I really love how detailed the water is with the bubbles and the shadows/light on her body.

I'm diggin' the anchor in this one, and the more I see anchors incorporated in these types of tattoos, the more I lean towards adding it to my list. I'm also loving the red hair!

the shading on this piece has me drooling. I think it's really important to remember how muscles really look in real life, and I'd like that to be a main focus of how my mermaid looks.

obviously, this isn't even close to the scale of what I want, but I think it's amazing. I love, love, LOVE her tail - the scales, the shading, and the color are impeccably done. 

absolutely gorgeous - the girl AND the tattoo. I like that it's kept in mainly black and grey, but I definitely want color. I love the background on this piece.

so, that's about all I've been able to find as far as well done mermaid tattoos go. I like to do a lot of research before putting an idea together, so I'll be searching for more images and flash drawings until I come across a few that I can incorporate into one solid piece. I tend to find a bunch of different things that I like and then mis-match them all together to create one magnificent tattoo.

stay tuned for another tattoo inspiration post! I've got a lot of ideas going on for future pieces! if you happen to be surfin' the web and come across a badass mermaid tattoo (because that's incredibly likely?), send it over to me! 

if you have any opinions or suggestions, feel free to leave them for me in the comments!

PS - I'm really pulling for a Ravens win tonight... it sucks having a pissed off husband!